TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team dropped their sixth contest of the season, falling to the McMaster Marauders 3-0 on Friday night. With the loss the Bold (5-6) fall below .500 while McMaster (6-7), a team battling them for the OUA’s final playoff spot, draw level with TMU in the standings.
“Obviously they’re the defending OUA champion,” said head coach Niko Rukavina. “There was a lot of game planning and a lot of work, so (the result) is a little frustrating.”
The Bold dropped the opening set 25-22. The Bold combined four service errors, with six attacking errors in the first set to fall behind early. The Bold have won each of their previous five matches when they win the first set.
“I’m okay with the service errors, we need to be aggressive at the line,” stated Rukavina. “With the net play, defensive responsibility stuff, we just weren’t executing where we needed to.”
The second set was just as hard contested as the first. The Bold who built an early lead quickly saw it evaporate. Alex King was instrumental in stemming the Marauder momentum, however his team-leading six kills in the second set was not enough, as the Marauders took the second set 27-25.
Despite two incredibly competitive sets, the Bold found themselves staring down a sweep barring a strong third set turnaround. Despite the mental miscues it was an unfair scoreline for the Bold, and the large contingency of their fans gathered at the MAC.
“The more fans we get the more we ride with that energy,” added Rukavina. “Hopefully the students are back now and start supporting because we want to create that home court energy.”
The Bold were once again trailing early as the third set opened play. Gathering momentum from the energetic crowd, the Bold clawed back. Each time it appeared the Bold were destined to level the score however, another service error, attacking miscue or unfortunate bounce undid all their progress.
A strong service game from Riley Donovan quickly changed that, as TMU rattled off four straight points, capped by an electric Jacob Walker kill, to take the third set lead. However, errors undid the Bold again, as they were unable to close out three straight set points. McMaster regrouped in extra points, taking the final set with a 29-27 win.
The Bold face the Marauders in a rematch tomorrow afternoon. First serve is scheduled to fly at 6 p.m. TMU students receive free entry with their OneCard. All home games can be streamed for free on OUA.tv.
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